1995 Chateauneuf du Pape

This note is based on my tastings of several barrels of the wine. In 1995, Henri Bonneau felt the quality level was the same as in 1996. In contrast, I thought the 1995 cuvees I tasted to be far richer than his 1996s. The lighter (a misnomer in these cellars) wines, which go into the Marie Beurrier, are peppery, powerful, earthy, sweet, and rich. The Reserve des Celestins cuvee is spectacular, and, to my palate, slightly superior to the 1994. The density, richness, and naturalness to Bonneau's wines just has to be tasted to be believed. The 1995 cuvees possess even more tannin than the 1994s, and at the top level, there is an extra dimension of the sweet kirsch fruit and unctuous texture that is akin to drinking blood. It will be a tannic wine that will require 5-8 years of cellaring when released - which is whenever Bonneau decides the wine is ready to bottle. If his wine needs five years in cask, it will get just that; Bonneau makes no concessions to the marketplace. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173 P.S. Many readers, realizing I reached a landmark this summer (I turned 50), wanted to know the wines I decided to drink on my birthday. Sixty percent of the wines I served were Chateauneuf du Pape 1988, 1989, and 1990 Reserve des Celestins. The other forty percent came from Chateau Rayas, the 1988 and 1990. In short, it was a 100% Chateauneuf du Pape celebration except for some gorgeous 1982 Krug I used to rinse my mouth out before drinking these sumptuous red wines.

In his modest manner, Bonneau claims 1995 to be a "bon millesime." Usually when Henri Bonneau says "bon" it means great. His lighter cuvees of 1995 are stunning - sweet, rich, and ripe, with a concentrated essence of beef blood, herbes de Provence, black-cherry, and cassis fruit. The more concentrated cuvees appear to merit a Reserve des Celestins classification as they are black/purple-colored, extremely broad, full-bodied, with huge alcohol, and unctuous textures. These wines (cuvees one, two, three and four) should turn out to be as good as his 1988s, but Bonneau claims they are not the equal of his three most recent great vintages, 1978, 1989, and 1990. This wine was tasted between June 1 and June 16, 1996. The legendary and irrepressible Henri Bonneau was in fine form when I saw him in June. Tasting in his dark, hodge-podge of tiny rooms was once again a memorable experience. Bonneau is not yet sure which designations he will use on his 1994s or 1995s, but I suspect there will be both a Marie Beurrier and Reserve des Celestins. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173